My Hyperactive Best Friend
by Niteloc
Summary: Nora has wanted to go to Beacon her entire life, the only thing that could make it better would be if her best friend could go with her. A blurred line between friendship and romance between Nora and Ren
1. Chapter 1 - The Beginning

They were bigger than he was, throwing his bag around, his books were being scattered everywhere. One of them was holding him down by his hair, the long, black ponytail was becoming a rope, all of this just because he was a bit different, all of this just because he preferred to wear asian fashion, and because in his bag he carried books filled with Chinese fairy tales. This was becoming almost commonplace for the boy in the green suit.

"Leave him alone!" a little girl yelled  
"What are you gonna do about it?" one of the bullies started walking towards her

The little girl, the one wearing almost completely pink stood her ground, her face turning into a smirk, her hair seemed to glow. Dropping her bag she stood ready to go toe to toe with the bully. He raised his hand ready to strike her, but quickly found a fist in his stomach. The little girl in pink was far stronger than she looked. The bullies ran, and she walked to the boy in green.

He sat up, and saw the little girl in pink running around, picking up his books and shoving them in his bag, she was back next to him in only a few seconds, handing him a muddled mess of a backpack.

"Thank you" he said, rearranging his backpack  
"I'm Nora" She began "It's really not nice that those boys were teasing you, you weren't doing anything wrong to them and you were just laying there, they shouldn't be throwing your stuff around, like it's your stuff!" she didn't take a single breath the entire time

"Yeah, I'm Ren, Lie Ren"  
"So, like does that mean that I call you Lie? Because like are you trying to make a James Bond joke?"  
"In my culture, our family name comes first"  
"Well, I'm Nora Valkyrie. Hey! Your eyes are pink! I love pink"

Ren moved his eyes down to look at the clothes the little girl was wearing, which was almost exclusively pink, and as he moved his eyes back up he noticed the girl looking at him once again, this time she was staring at his hair.

"Your hair is really dark, you need some colour in your hair, you should put some pink in! it would match your eyes!"

* * *

Ren trained, he eventually created his own style, he was one of the only people in the school who chose not to use a weapon, he preferred a combination of his aura and a style of hand-to-hand combat which he had created, he carried two green pistols for ranged combat, but always preferred to quickly close the distance.

Nora on the other hand carried one of the strangest weapons out of everyone in their school, when it was on her back it looked like a grenade launcher, and fired specially designed rounds which were filled with dust. When she had to fight up close she could transform it into a hammer that she could use to crush almost anything.

* * *

"Ren!" Nora yelled, jumping over the fence to his house "I got my letter to Beacon! I got in! I'm going to beacon! Are you going to Beacon too? Like we could both go to Beacon and we can have sleepovers in each others dorm rooms, Well that's if they allow it!"

She looked through the window and saw Ren sitting at the table with his parents, he opened a letter and read it, then calmly passed it to his father, who simply nodded, passing Ren back the letter, along with a small package. He accepted it, stood up from the table, bowed and walked out into the yard, where he knew Nora would be waiting.

"We-ll?" Nora said, starting at Ren's right shoulder, then finishing at his left.  
"I got into Beacon" He replied  
"Yay!" Nora yelled, throwing her arms around him "You're coming to Beacon with me! We have to go and buy our stuff for classes, like we need books, and pencils, and we will both need a scroll, and. Oh!" her face turning into an almost maniacal smile "We need to dye your hair" moving her right hand from around his neck to pick up a lock of hair above his left eye.

His hair, the one thing that Nora had never let up about Ren, she absolutely had to dye that one lock of hair pink, just so it would match his eyes, and match her outfit probably. Everything had been perfect in his life, maybe it would be time to rebel just a bit.

* * *

"I love it!" Nora beamed, looking at her best friend, who was sitting on the edge of her bathtub, his shirt was hanging on a chair in her bedroom. she resembled a serial killer, she was covered in pink dye from head to toe, but somehow she had managed to only dye the specific lock in Ren's hair that she wanted.

"I should have a shower!" Nora said, starting to remove her vest  
"Wait until I've left the room!" Ren quickly looked down to his feet  
"I don't know why, you're like my best friend, and we're always together, well not together together, but like I don't mind if you see me without my clothes on" Nora was now slipping out of her skirt  
"I'm going to wait in your room" Ren said, walking out of the room.

"Why is she like that?" Ren began talking to himself as he buttoned up his shirt "I don't want to see her like that, well I guess it wouldn't be bad, she is quite pretty." He flicked his pistols out of their hiding place, It was a wonder that Nora hadn't tried to make him paint them pink as well, which was never happening. That was when he remembered the package his father had given him.

Ren was constantly complaining that as much as he loved his pistols he never had enough ammunition. He reached down and pulled the package out of his bag, and opened it, lifting out two strange looking clips, it was exactly what he had hoped for. A strange looking clip which, instead of firing traditional ammunition allowed him to channel his aura through it, meaning that, as long as he had energy left, he would have ammunition to fire.

Then Ren noticed that something was dripping on his lap

"That looks cool!" Nora exclaimed. "What is it?" Her head appeared over his shoulder, dripping wet.  
"A special clip for my pistols" Ren gestured towards the weapons, now lying on Nora's desk  
"What does it do? Does it shoot fire? Or super powered bullets that explode when they hit anything? Does it shoot shotguns?" Nora was changing which shoulder she appeared over with each new question

"They're called shotgun shells Nora" Ren always took an opportunity to correct her.  
"Just tell me!" Nora was now standing in front of Ren.  
"They allow me to channel my aura through the pistols, it will solve the issues I have been having with running out of ammunition."

He looked up at his best friend "Don't you have a towel?" He found himself subconsciously tracing the outline of Nora's now naked body, "Why does she have to look so good?" He thought to himself.

"Yeah, but it's in the bathroom, all my clothes are in here, so I came here to get dressed, and you were sitting on my chair looking at your new clip thingies, and then I asked you-"

"I was here, Nora" Ren interrupted her  
"Aren't they a bit longer than the normal clips on your guns?" Nora inquired, slipping on a pink bra and some shorts

"Pistols" Ren said, glancing at the pink lock of hair in front of his eye, "And yes, it's a sacrifice I will have to make, it doesn't look as good, but oh well."  
"Oh well" She repeated, mimicking his voice. "Hey, I need to go shopping tomorrow for school stuff and I need some help, can you stay here tonight so we can go early? Because the shops get really packed really quickly and Dad has to go to work and-"  
"Yes, I need to buy a few things as well"

"Okay, you can sleep with me in my bed right? It's just that we don't have a spare bed right now because my aunt is here and it'll be alright, won't it?" She said, pulling on a pink singlet  
"I'll sleep on the floor" Ren's modesty was astounding.

Nora seemed to almost take offence to what Ren had said, "No, you will sleep with me! I'm not letting my best friend sleep on the floor while I get to sleep in a nice comfy bed, there's nothing wrong with it, we're just sleeping in the same bed."

"Fine!"  
"Okay Ren" Nora said in a singsong tone.

* * *

"Did you like the dinner that mum cooked? I wish I could cook like that!" Nora said walking into her room.  
"I wish your mother wouldn't feel obliged to cook Chinese every time I eat here" Ren responded, following her in.  
"Yeah, but mum doesn't know and she thinks that you like it and wants to cook something that you'll enjoy, next time I'll ask her to cook hamburgers" Nora said, reaching behind her back to remove her bra

That would be nice" said Ren, his voice cracking as he noticed his best friends bra slip down her arm.

Nora jumped onto her bed, and somehow managed to get under the covers without actually lifting them up, Ren, on the other hand, stood at the door, once again considering whether he should climb into bed with the girl in pink.

"You're not sleeping like that are you?" Nora asked  
"I don't have any other clothes"  
"But they're dirty! I don't want dirty clothes in my bed! Take them off! just sleep in your boxers"  
"I'm not doing that Nora"  
"Yes you are, I'm not sleeping with someone wearing dirty clothes!" Nora said, jumping on Ren

No matter how much Ren resisted he couldn't overpower Nora, she was stronger than he was, and he wasn't prepared to use his aura and hurt her. he found that his pants were off in almost an instant, and his shirt was soon to follow.

"There, see, you look handsome" Said Nora, laying back down on her bed.

"I look ridiculous" Ren said as he climbed in

Nora slid over on the bed, nuzzling her head into Ren's shoulder, he could feel her legs intertwining with his, and one of her arms wrapping around him. "Nora I-" he began, but, smelling her shampoo, stopped himself "Juniper berries. Oh well she's not hurting anyone after all." He fought to justify it with himself, slipping an arm around her.

* * *

**AUTHORS NOTE**

**Okay, so that was a thing, I'm not completely sure where I'm going with this, if you want me to continue please let me know, this is kind of like a pilot. If you like it make sure you say something, I'm not going to keep writing it otherwise**


	2. Chapter 2 - Shopping

"Re-en!" Nora elongated his name as she screamed at him, "Mum and Dad are gone and they didn't leave any breakfast!"  
"So what?" Ren looked up from the bed  
"I can't cook anything" Nora looked to the ground  
"Can't you have cereal?" He dropped his head back onto the pink pillow.

Ren turned his head, looking towards his best friend standing at the closet, she pulled her pink singlet over her head, he couldn't help but smirk, _"She has no shame"_ he thought as she lifted up a bra, slipping it on. She turned around, Ren quickly spun and stared at the wall _"Please don't have noticed, please don't have noticed"_

"Can you cook me pancakes?" Nora cocked her head  
"Okay" Ren spun his legs out from where they had laid on the bed, so he was sitting on the side  
"Thank you Ren" Nora sung

He stood up and looked at the crumpled state of the clothes he had worn the day before, he wished he had gone home and gotten some more before they went to bed last night, or at least that he had bothered to fold them after Nora had so unceremoniously removed them. He lifted up the white trousers, flicking them in an attempt to remove the creases, he pulled them over his boxers and walked out to the kitchen, he wasn't going to risk getting pancake batter on his shirt.

* * *

"Which shirt?" he heard Nora ask as he served up the pancakes

He turned around and saw Nora standing there in nothing but her underwear, holding a pink shirt in one hand, and a blue one in the other.

"You're going to wear the pink one no matter what I say" Ren lifted up the two plates, hoping Nora wouldn't notice that he was slightly blushing.  
"You're right, why do I even have a blue shirt?" Nora slid the pink shirt on as she walked over to the table.  
"You're not going to put any pants on?" Ren asked, pouring some syrup onto his pancakes  
"I'll put a skirt on before we leave silly!" Nora began to drown her pancakes in syrup.

* * *

"Okay" Ren said as they walked into the mall "What did you need?"  
"I need some pens and some books and some pencils and a scroll and a pencil case and-"  
"Do you have any stationary?" Ren interrupted her  
"Um" Nora seemed deep in thought. "No"  
"How did you get through the last year?"  
"Slept in class and hit stuff" Nora looked at Ren almost quizzically "Duh"

They went from store to store, Ren only grabbed a few pens that he needed, and stopped at the books section to see if her could find something worth reading on the trip over there, he knew Beacon had an extensive library, so there would be no shortage of literature when he arrived, but he needed something to help him cope with the trip over. Nora on the other hand went through all of the stationary she could find, picking out everything pink, or covered in love hearts, she spent far too much money on everything that she didn't need.

"Okay" Ren said, carrying many bags filled with his friends shopping, "I need something to eat"  
"Where do you want to eat? There's a nice Chine-"  
"I don't want Chinese Nora" Ren interrupted  
"Well what do you want then silly?" Nora wrapped her unladen arms around Ren's waist  
"Uh" Ren faltered "A burger would be nice"  
"Okay!" Nora yelled bonding towards the nearest burger shop

_"Why did that happen again?"_ Ren thought to himself as he followed after his friend _"First I catch myself looking at her, then I can't speak when she hugs me? What is going on with me?"_ he continued to ponder his situation as he placed the bags down at the table, seeing Nora happily skipping across with two cheeseburgers in hand _"How did she do that so quickly?"_

"There you go" she placed one of the plates in front of Ren  
"Thank you Nora" He slid the bags off his arms

Ren lifted up the burger and took a bite out of it, watching as Nora did the same. She smiled at him between the bites. She was important to him, and he would do anything to look after her, not that she would need looking after, even without that massive behemoth of a weapon she called Magnhild she could more than handle herself, Ren had seen her take people twice her size down many times before, not to mention the day they had met.

* * *

"Where would we buy a scroll?" Nora said, bending over in front of the store directory  
"Probably the electronics store" Ren struggled to lift the weight of the bags to point at the map.

Nora once again rushed ahead of Ren, leaving him to carry the heavy bags, once he had caught up he found Nora standing in the middle of the store, looking at all manner of computers and the varying sized scrolls, she seemed upset, Ren could see why upon arriving, the Scroll was a complex tool, designed for battle, not to look good, and as a result, only came in one colour, and it wasn't pink

"I want a pink scroll!"  
"They don't make them in pink, Nora" Ren grabbed two of the boxes below the display unit,  
"Can we paint it pink?" She was turning the box, looking through the different views  
"No, it will stop working if you do that" Ren began walking towards the counter

* * *

"It's raining" Nora observed as they walked out of the mall, her voice slightly depressed  
"Did you bring a jacket?" Ren asked, already knowing the answer  
"No" Nora confirmed his suspicions.

Ren reached down, undoing the buttons on the green jacket that he wore, and slid it around his best friend's shoulders, now all that he had on was a white singlet and his trousers, and it was raining, and it was cold, but he felt Nora nuzzle her head into his shoulder, he felt the sleeve of his own jacket slip around his back, and for a moment he swore he felt warm

"Thank you Ren" it was one of the only times she hadn't sung the response  
"That's okay Nora" He replied, quickly shutting his eyes, the feeling was slightly overwhelming

* * *

They walked back into Nora's house, Ren was shivering, a combination of the cold wind and his wet clothes, his hair was dripping, his clothes clung to his body, forming what felt like a layer of ice on his skin.

"Nora" He called out "Do you mind if I have a shower?"  
"That's fine, you know where it is" she called out "If you leave your clothes outside the door I can put them in the dryer for you!"

Ren dropped his singlet and trousers outside the door of the bathroom, hopefully they would be dry by the time he had finished in the shower.

Nora walked out of her bedroom and saw the clothes of her best friend sitting in a crumpled heap outside of the bathroom door, she picked them up and walked into the laundry, throwing them into the dryer, she hung up his jacket on a coathanger, she'd already put it in the dryer once, and when she did that Ren was upset, apparently it was bad for it or something.

She knocked lightly on the door to the bathroom.

"Don't come in here!" Ren nervously yelled over the sound of the shower  
"I'm not coming in" Nora giggled "Do you want me to make you a cup of tea?"  
"Oh," Ren replied "Yes please"

She walked out to the kitchen and lifted up a mug, she didn't like tea, and Ren wouldn't let her drink coffee, apparently it made her too hyperactive. She started to boil the water and dropped a tea bag into the mug, she poured the boiling water into the mug, and watched as it changed from clear to a dark shade of brown, she loved the way that happened, it always made pretty patterns while it was changing.

"Nora!" Ren called out from the now open door of the bathroom "Are my clothes done yet?"  
"No!" she smirked as she realised what she would say next "Just come out in a towel!"  
"I'm not doing that" he replied  
"Your tea will go cold" he smirk grew into an ear to ear smile

There was an audible groan that came from down the hall, but Nora heard distinct footprints as Ren approached. She took the rare opportunity to look at Ren's body, it was easy to tell that he trained often, even if the way he fought didn't rely on brute strength, almost every muscle in his body was on display, Nora couldn't take her eyes off him.

Ren couldn't help but smile when he noticed Nora staring at him, luckily he was able to hide it behind a mouthful of tea. _"At least she makes a good cup of tea"_ Ren thought, leaning on a counter and watching as Nora continued to stare at his body

"Stop staring" He said between sips of his tea  
"But" Nora looked for an excuse "Fine" she looked out the window, "Can you stay here again tonight?"  
"I need to pack for Beacon, Nora" Ren replied from behind a cup of tea "And I need a change of clothes"  
"You can wash the ones you have here" she gestured towards the laundry "And I need some help packing, and you're good at it and-"  
"Fine" He cut her off "But I'll need to go home and-"  
"But it's raining!" Nora screamed "Just sleep in your boxers again, I'll wash them now" she turned around to go to the laundry.

_"I'm going to have to get used to this"_ He thought as he took another sip of his tea, watching as the girl in pink disappeared into the laundry _"It's only going to get worse from here on"_ He looked in the pantry, placing his left hand on the frame _"She's going to find a way to be your partner, and then this will be every single day"_ Ren felt a pair of arms slip around his body, and noticed as a smile crept across his face, _"It sounds pretty good actually"_ he drank the final mouthful of his tea.

* * *

**AUTHORS NOTE**

**Alright, so this is definitely going to continue, the response from both here and on reddit was slightly overwhelming. Here's the shopping date that everybody wanted, hope you all enjoy it. As always, leave feedback.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Beacon

"I can't believe we are going to Beacon! Like we are on our way there!" Nora was jumping up and down on the spot.  
"You've said that five times already" Ren was still getting used to the pink streak which occasionally fell in front of his left eye.  
"I know, but I'm so excited, soon we'll probably be fighting Ursa and Beowolves, but we'll probably have to go to lessons, I hate going to lessons, they're boring"  
"I find them interesting, especially history, I hope we get a good professor" Said Ren, checking his pistols for the third time that trip "I can't wait to try out this new clip" he thought to himself.

Somewhere on the airship they heard a boy throw up, and immediately heard the sound of two girls who were clearly finding the entire experience disgusting. Ren glanced back at Nora, noticing that the girl, who was clearly a head shorter than him, literally bouncing from excitement.

"Do you think they'll let us share rooms Ren? I hope I can share a room with you, It'll mean you can help me with my assignments and -"  
"I doubt I'll be allowed to share a room with you Nora, schools are particular about that kind of thing"

* * *

_"We are all sleeping in the same room, not just me and Nora, everybody, why would they allow such a thing? It is entirely inappropriate, I don't even have anywhere to get changed"_ Ren's mind was running wild, it would be difficult to tell, he chose to simply lie on his stomach

He looked around, he noticed people merely getting changed in the middle of the room, male and female, did nobody here have any shame? Ren still couldn't believe that a prestigious school such as Beacon would allow something like this to happen, but he knew that Nora would be far too excited about this

"It's like a sleepover party!" he heard a familiar voice, and felt something familiar fall on his back, it worried him that he knew exactly how Nora felt when she was laying on top of him. He glanced over to notice that the mats that he had intentionally laid down apart from each other were now touching.

_"How did she do that?"_ He thought

"I thought that we could sleep next to each other so we don't get homesick, the first night is always crappy when you're away, it's when you miss your bed the most"  
"I think th-that is a bad idea" Ren replied _"Did I just stutter?"  
_"Please Ren?" she wrapped her arms around his neck  
"O-okay" he replied _"Again?"  
_"Thank you Ren" Nora sang, rolling off him and, as soon as he was on his back, pressing her body up against his

_"Juniper berries. Again. I'll have to borrow that shampoo"_ Ren thought, sliding his arm around her.

* * *

"Boop"  
"Get down, you'll hurt yourself" Ren said, looking up at Nora for one of the first times of his life  
"Done" Said Nora, appearing behind him.  
"I hate it when you do that" Ren didn't even flinch.  
"How were the new clip-aura-shooty-things?"  
"Excellent, they did exactly what I wanted, but they do drain me pretty quickly"  
"Do you hear that?" Nora's voice dropped a register as she reached for her weapon.

Just then, two Ursa burst out of the bushes, one was quickly put down by Nora, it's amazing how much damage she can do with that hammer, she crushed its skull in one blow, with the other one, she took a more indirect approach.

"This is so much fun!" she said, hanging onto one of its spikes  
"Nora!" Ren sounded scared "That's dangerous!" he began running after her _"I don't want you to get hurt!"_.

* * *

"Nora distract it!"

The girl in pink followed the instructions her best friend had given. _"Grenades are always good for distracting giant birds, well, at least I think It'll work"_ A few grenades flying through the air later, and the girl had proven herself right. _"I wonder if that giant scorpion is close to me."_

A glyph appeared at her feet, and an unfamiliar, cold hand clenched her around the arm, before she knew it she was flying through the air, watching a strange girl in black fighting that giant scorpion with Ren. _"I hope he's alright"_ she thought to herself as the girl in white flew through the air.

"You have to be more careful!" The pale girl yelled as she landed  
"I was fighting the bird!" Nora defended her actions "I didn't see the scorpion thing!"  
"Just run!"

As they reached the bridge the giant bird took out the base of it, everyone scrambled to reach the other side, most did, but the three people at the back, Ren, that strange girl in black, and the girl with the bright red hair were stuck with the giant scorpion.

"I need to help Ren!" Nora said to herself, running towards them  
"We have to get over there!"

* * *

"This isn't working!" Ren yelled, his aura-bullets weren't doing anything to the Deathstalker's armour, neither were the bullets from the red-headed girl's rifle, or the blade on the girl with the dark hair's katana.

"We must not give up!" Yelled the girl with the red hair.

Out of the corner of her eye, Pyrrha noticed her new-found partner land hard on the ground, closely followed by a girl in pink flying over her head, hitting the Deathstalker, hard, then jumping off, knocking the girl in black off their platform.

When the Deathstalker started to destroy the platform, the group knew they had to go on the attack, Ren jumped up onto the stinger of the beast, unloading his aura into it in an attempt to disarm it. For his efforts, he was flung to the side, sent flying into a wall.

Nora felt her heart skip a beat, a symptom of fear normally reserved for Ren, she no longer cared about this girl with the read hair, or Jaune, she only wanted to make sure that Ren was alright, but not before killing this thing that hurt him.

"Nora! Nail it!"

Hearing her name, she snapped back into the fight, jumping off the girls shield, she came down hard on this beast, pushing the stinger Ren had fought to remove down into its body.

"Ren! are you okay?" Nora ran to her best friends side, pulling him into a deep embrace.  
"I will be" He replied, hugging back through the pain _"Now that you're here"_ he added in his head.

* * *

"Here it is!" Jaune said, holding his scroll up to the door  
"We get to share a room!" Nora screamed, running in before everybody.  
"I still don't think this is appropriate" said Pyrrha, blushing visibly  
"I'm going to go and have a shower, maybe put a bandage on" Ren rubbed his side.  
"I'll come with you! you'll need someone to help!" Nora said following Ren out the door.

Walking down the hall, Ren could sense the peaks in his friends Aura which generally indicated excitement, and noticed a sudden drop, generally indicative of disappointment.

"There are boys and girls showers!" Nora's aura spiked with anger.  
"Well, at least they have some decency" Ren reacted  
"How will I put your bandage on then?" Nora said, sadness seeping into her voice.  
"I'll put it on myself" Ren gave a solution, turning around to look at Nora _"Dammit, puppy dog eyes, why can she do that? how does she do that?"_ Ren sighed "Fine, you can put it on in our room."

* * *

Ren stepped out of the shower and pulled on a pair of trousers, looking at his torso in the mirror, the bruises were well and truly formed, he had probably broken a few ribs in the fight earlier that day, _"Ugh, I do some stupid things sometimes"_ He pulled his hair back into a quick ponytail, _"Nora will just go and brush it later anyway"_ he thought to himself as he walked out the door. He was almost surprised to see Nora sitting there cross legged waiting for him, hair dripping wet and wearing the pink shorts and frilly singlet that she always wore to bed.

Walking back to the room Ren could feel everyone looking at him, he knew that people were thinking that he and Nora were dating, people almost always did when they saw the two of them together. He didn't really care any more, people rarely even asked, always just assumed.

"Okay," Nora said, opening the door "Sit down on the bed and I'll put this on you" she pulled out a bandage from a first aid kit Ren had sworn he hadn't seen her pick up.

"Please don't wrap it too tight" Ren said, wincing as he sat down.

Nora sat down behind him, letting her legs rest either side of Ren's hips, she started by placing the bandage at his right shoulder, then slowly wrapping it around his body, being careful not to hurt him while she did so, every so often stopping to make sure she wasn't wrapping the bandage too tight, it was surprising that someone who was usually so hyperactively violent, that in circumstances such as these, she was able to be so tender and loving.

"Does it hurt?" Nora fastened the bandage in place  
"Yes" Ren responded,  
"I'm sorry, It'll be better soon" Nora rested her head in between Ren's shoulderblades  
"Why does that feel so good?" Ren thought to himself

The audible click of the lock on the door resonated throughout the room, Pyrrha walked in, wearing a black singlet and a pair of dark shorts, originally unaware to the procedures occurring within the room, but quickly noticed Ren's half naked form, and Nora wrapped around him, and blushing, went to quickly leave the room.

"Don't worry" Said Nora "We're all team mates, I think we'll be seeing each other like this alot  
"That's what's worrying me" replied Pyrrha, pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

Ren stood up, his body now covered by the bandage his best friend had put on, he would never admit that he could never have done that by himself, and had planned the entire time of allowing Nora to help him, more the point, asking her to help him. He walked over to his desk, and picked up his pistols, beginning to clean them. He could hear some commotion behind him, and noticing spikes in Nora's Aura, found it worrying.

Placing the pistol down on his desk, he turned around to see the beds that used to be apart, pushed together, with any form of linen being made into an amalgamation of sheets and blankets which looked like they were just about ready to collapse if someone so much as sneezed in their direction.

"Nora" Ren began  
"Please Ren" Nora tilted her head slightly.  
"I want my sleep"  
"You sleep better when you're with me"  
"I have a broken rib, maybe even two"  
"And I put bandages on them and made them better" Nora said, laying down on the bed.  
"Why do you make me do this?" Ren asked

"Because when I get to sleep next to you, I feel like I'm at home again, and I know I'm going to miss being home pretty soon, but if you're laying here with me, then I won't feel as bad about it" Nora said, glancing down to the ground

Pyrrha broke her silence "Best reason I've ever heard for sleeping with someone"

"You aren't helping" Ren glared at Pyrrha

"Fine," Ren said, walking towards the bed with Nora "But please be gentle, I'm sore" he rested his head on the pillow. "And if we are going to make a habit of this, we are buying some bigger sheets" he said, feeling Nora's head lightly come to rest on his left shoulder.

_"I could get used to this" _He thought as the scent of Nora's shampoo fills his nostrils.


	4. Chapter 4 - Sheets

_"Why am I so cold?"_

Ren opened his eyes laboriously, and, wiping the sleep from them began to survey his surroundings. _"Okay, this is my room"_ He noticed the posters Nora had put up, as well as Jaune and Pyrrha sleeping in the beds next to him. _"Our room"_ he corrected himself. He looked down at his own body, noticing a distinct absence of any form of sheet or blanket. he turned his head, looking at Nora, who was wrapped up in the only blanket left on the bed, smiling, as always.

"Well," Ren whispered, standing up "At least you look warm" he couldn't help but smile looking at Nora sleep, as much as she could drive him insane at times, and as much as she could make him worry when she did things that no sane human being would go even as far as considering, she looked so peaceful when she slept. Wrapped up in her cocoon of a blanket, that adorable little smile on her face "You're lucky I care about you so much" he whispered, lifting up one of the blankets at the foot of the bed. "If anyone else interrupted my sleep like this, I'd probably be really angry with them"

Ren laid back down on the bed, resting his head on his pillow, he draped the blanket over himself, smiling slightly from the almost immediate warmth it gave him. Nora reached out of her cocoon and lightly grabbed onto his waist. He felt as a strong set of arms pulled him across the bed, and as a head gently rested itself on his shoulder. Nora's smile increased in size, crumpling the singlet Ren was wearing over his bandages, he felt his own face become a smile as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Ren, wake up" A hand prodded his thigh  
"Go away, Nora."  
"Come on, it's the weekend!" She pulled the blankets off him  
"All the more reason to stay in bed" Ren tried to roll over, wincing as he knocked a tender spot on the bed.  
"Jaune and Pyrrha are already out" Nora began "I'm going to have a shower, can you at least be up by the time I get back?"  
"Not promising anything" Ren replied

He heard the latch on the door shut. _"At least five minutes of peace"_ he shut his eyes, in a desperate attempt to sleep for a few more minutes. He knew that Nora would be back soon, he knew that she would make him get up and he knew that he would have to go out soon. _"She's going to make you go to the mall again"_ he planned the day in his head _"That means a bus ride, She hates buses, they take too long to get anywhere"_ He wasn't going to get any more sleep this morning. _"At least it'll give you a chance to buy some new sheets"_ he slowly sat up, being careful not to hurt his sore ribs.

He looked around the bed, it was a complete mess, the sheets were basically everywhere they shouldn't have been, on the floor, on both sides of the bed and at the foot. Ren sighed, lifting them up and draping them over the sides of the bed, he knew he would be remaking it this afternoon, he was definitely getting new sheets, he couldn't cope with the idea of waking up in the middle of the night again, sleep was too good for that.

He walked over to the closet, opened it, and looked at the clothes hanging within, three pairs of white trousers, five shirts and his jacket. He took out a pair of trousers and slipped them on over his boxers, followed by one of his shirts, taking the time to slip off the singlet when he did so. He buttoned up his shirt slowly, taking the time to tuck it into his trousers, judging by the day it was, he was probably going to be giving his jacket to Nora anyway, that's normally how it went on cold, wet days.

The lock on the door clicked, Nora walked back into the room, she had clearly had a shower, but was still wearing the same pink singlet and shorts she had left the room in. As she shut the door behind her she reached behind her head, pulling the singlet off over a mess of tangled red hair. Ren glanced across from his closet, and saw her without it. He found himself admiring her body, subconsciously tracing the curves of her half naked form.

_"Get yourself together Ren!"_ he screamed inside his own head _"You can't look at her like that! She's your best friend!"_ he fought with himself, but couldn't take his eyes off her. She slid her shorts down her legs, revealing a pair of lacy, pink underwear. Ren had no clue where to look, he wanted to look away, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, thank god she was looking into her closet, he knew she would pick out the same pink skirt and blouse that she always wore, he saw a pair of blue eyes look at him in the mirror

"Ren?"  
"Oh" he shook his head "What's wrong Nora?"  
"I asked if we could go to the mall today" Nora turned around, the top half of her body now covered by a pale pink bra  
"Yeah, we can catch the bus in, we need some new sheets by the way, you kicked them all off last night" Ren glanced at the state of the bed "Again"

Nora stepped into a pink skirt, pulling it up over her hips, doing up the zipper on the side. She turned back to the closet, lifting out a pink and white blouse. She slipped it over her arms, doing it up in front of her. She lifted up a pink hairbrush, and started to run it through her hair. She looked in the mirror, a small smile creeping across her face, if Ren wanted to buy new sheets, it meant she would be able to keep sharing the bed with him.

"Alright Nora" Ren secured the long hair draped down his back into a ponytail "Let's get going"  
"Okay Ren" She walked to his side, taking him by the hand.

* * *

"Where do you buy sheets?" Nora looked on the directory of the local mall  
"Probably here" Ren tapped the map.

They walked into the store, looking at the rows of sheets on the wall, from white to black and everything in between, every colour was there. Ren knew straight away what Nora would go for, so he went straight to something that was far more practical. White would show up Nora's makeup less, even if it was easier to get dirty, Nora was already standing in front of the various shades of pink in the store. He knew she would try to make him buy at least one set of them, even if he thought it was a bad idea.

"Ren" red hair appeared beside his left eye "I found one!" she held up a set of sheets in front of him, they were the same shade of pink as her skirts.  
"I'm not buying pink sheets Nora," He pushed one of her arms aside, allowing himself to slip out of her grasp  
"But they match your hair!" she appeared in front of him  
"That's a horrible reason to buy sheets" Ren picked up two sets of plain, white sheets

He began to walk over to the cash register, hopefully Nora would give up. _"She won't give up"_ Ren's logic pervaded his thoughts as he approached the register. He placed the sets of white sheets down on the desk, reaching for his wallet in his back pocket.

"Seventy Lien please" The lady scanned the items "Unless you wish to purchase those" She gestured towards Nora.

Ren turned to see his best friend holding the pink sheets, still staring at him intently, her smile had faded to a slight pout, and, combined with her eyes, she had made the one expression she knew Ren could not resist. _"Puppy dog eyes"_ Ren thought, trying to stare her down, but it seemed with every passing moment his resistance against them lessened further. _"You used to be able to ignore them"_ he thought to himself, as he found the pink sheets being placed in his hand _"Something is wrong with you Ren, you have to fix this"_ He thought, turning back towards the cash register, pulling one-hundred and five Lien out of his wallet.

* * *

"It's so cold!" Nora looked up at the grey sky  
"Of course it is" Ren sounded annoyed  
"I should have brought a jacket" Nora looked at the ground.

_"Why do you do this to yourself Ren?"_ he thought as he undid the buttons on his jacket, _"She'll never learn like this"_ he thought as she slid it off his shoulders _"But as long as you're around she won't have to will she?"_ He draped the jacket around her shoulders.

Nora smiled as she felt the warmth of Ren's jacket surround her body, _"It smells like him"_ She thought, running her face along the shoulder. She lifted her arms, wrapping them around Ren's waist, a nuzzled her head into the crook of his shoulder "Thank you, Ren." She whispered to him quietly.

* * *

"Okay Nora" Ren walked back into their bedroom, "give me a hand making the bed"  
"Can we use the pink sheets?" Nora sounded too excited about it  
"Fine" Ren was in no mood to argue

He pulled the pink set of sheets out of the bag, Nora quickly grabbed them and ran through the room, eventually falling into a heap, wrapped in pink on the floor, if it weren't for a flash of red hair, Ren would have had no clue where she actually was. She stuck her head out, smiling at him from across the room.

"Nora," Ren did his best to hide a smile "We need to make the bed." he stepped over, trying to untangle her from the sheets  
"If you weren't hurt, I so would have wrestled you just then" Nora slid out of the tangled, pink mess  
"Why doesn't that sound that bad?" Ren thought, watching the sheets fly towards the bed.

Ren lifted up the fitted sheet, and slipped the elastic over the base of the two mattresses, sighing with relief when he realised it fit well. Nora was standing at the top of the hastily constructed double bed, and crawled down to grab onto the sheet, pulling it over the top of the bed. They draped the other sheet on top of it, tucking the sides in, forming a neat little pocket that neither of them could wait to get into.

* * *

**AUTHORS NOTE**

**Okay, still a bit of set up, everything will begin to kick off in the next chapter, trust me. Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying the fluffiness of it, some actual plot is coming your way soon, sorry that the chapters are being released a bit irregularly, I'll try to get it better soon. As always, leave any feedback.**


	5. Chapter 5 - I'll Protect You

"Ren!" Screamed Nora  
"Yes, Nora" He recoiled from the noise, she was lying right next to him.  
"We are going to the gym today!" she jumped out of bed  
"Oh joy," Ren said sarcastically, "I get to watch Cardin show off"  
"I can lift just as much as him anyway." Nora smiled maniacally, flexing her right arm  
"I know you can Nora, you make me get the weights for you, and add them up"

Nora jumped out of the bed, running over to the closet, she pulled her singlet off over her head, and quickly slipped into a black sports bra. _"Was Ren just looking at me?"_ she glanced quickly into the mirror on the door of her closet. She slipped out of the frilled, pink shorts she had slept in, replacing them with a pair of knee-length tights. She grabbed a pink t-shirt with the Beacon Academy logo stretched across the front, and walked back towards the bed, where Ren was gradually sitting up.

"Come on Ren!" she yelled  
"Nora, please put a shirt on" Ren did everything he could to avoid blushing.  
"But why?" Nora inquired "It's not like it's something you haven't seen before, and anyway" she gestured towards her chest "This covers everything, I don't make you put trousers on, because" she gestured towards Ren's boxers "they cover everything, especially when you have bandages on your chest, but fine." she rolled her eyes, slipping her t-shirt on.

She bounded back across the room, taking a pair of exercise shorts and a green t-shirt with the same Beacon Academy logo stretched across the front out of Ren's closet, and threw them across the room at him, hitting him square in the face. She giggled as she saw Ren pull the hood created by his own clothes off, and, standing up, slipped them on. "I wish he didn't have those bandages on" she bit her bottom lip, "I love the way his body looks" she didn't even try to hide the disappointed expression on her face.

Ren walked towards his friend, he didn't want her near his closet, the last thing he wanted was for her to start going through his-

"Nora!" he screamed "Get out of my underwear drawer!"  
"Sorry Ren" she sung, shutting the drawer, smiling maniacally all the time.

Ren slammed the door of his closet shut, walking towards the door, he opened it, gesturing for Nora to walk through.

"Come on, I don't want to miss breakfast" He said, following her out the door.

* * *

Nora walked along the line in the cafeteria, grabbing food at every stop, _"Ooh, bacon, oh, and some eggs, can't have bacon without eggs, oh and I need some pancakes, and of course I need maple syrup with them, and I'll get some orange juice, but I want apple juice too"_ she paused, seemingly deep in thought _"Oh well, just get both"_ she put two glasses of juice onto her tray

She sat down at the table across from Ren, who sat there with nothing but a cup of tea, with two biscuits.

"How is it that you can eat so much and stay so thin?" he sipped his tea, looking at the plate in front of his best friend  
"I dunno, I put on weight sometimes, but" she looked straight down "It kinda tends to go to my boobs"  
"I hadn't noticed" Ren hid his mouth behind his tea  
"Really? Nora pulled the front of her shirt out "I've gotten two sizes bigger"

Ren was doing everything he could not to blush, it wasn't working, but he was trying, he sat still and sipped his tea. only taking the mug away from his face to take a bite of his biscuit. He watched on as Nora took a bite of a pancake, completely soaked in maple syrup, she took a huge gulp of orange juice before shovelling a mouthful of scrambled eggs into her mouth.

"You'll get a cramp" Ren looked over his tea  
"No I won't" Nora stared him down  
"Fine, eat. But I'm not dealing with it when you get a cramp" Ren shrugged _"You know you will"_

As Nora ate the last bite of her breakfast, and Ren downed his last mouthful of tea, they stood up, ready to go to their gym class, as much as Ren hated it, he loved seeing Nora do weights, she loved it when she was lifting the heavier weights, just last week she had passed two hundred pounds, she needed to be as strong as possible to use Magnhild properly.

* * *

They walked into the gym, the smile that grew across Nora's face when she saw the chest press machine was free, and ran over, sliding onto the bench, and grabbing the bar above her head, gesturing for Ren to place the large, heavy discs onto the sides. He lifted one hundred and fifty pounds onto the bar, and, after hearing a grunt of disapproval, increased it by another twenty.

"I can do more!" Nora yelled, staring at him  
"You'll tear a muscle if you don't warm up" Ren watched on, there was no need to spot her with this machine.

Nora lifted the weights, she barely even broke a sweat, she was still thirty pounds below her best, Ren increased the weight gradually, allowing her muscles to get used to the extra weight. He glanced across the gym, Cardin was showing off, he wasn't even wearing a shirt, allowing his muscles to bulge under the weight of the barbell he was lifting.

"How much is he lifting?" Nora lifted her head up  
"Two hundred and thirty I think" Ren answered _"Bad idea, shouldn't have told her that"_  
"Put two-forty on, now" Nora began to grin

_"You've done it now Ren"_ he thought as he walked across to the weight stand. _"She's going to hurt herself, then you're going to have to deal with it"_ He lifted up two ten pound weights, walking back across and sliding them onto the bar.

Nora pushed herself to the limit, using her aura to prevent her muscles from tearing, it was lucky that she was able to manipulate her body like this, someone of her size would never be able to lift Magnhild otherwise. Someone of her size would definitely not be able to lift something that was twice her weight like this any other way.

Ren glanced up from admiring his best friend lifting the massive weight to see Cardin Winchester walking towards him, still shirtless, and just a big as ever. he heard Nora lock the machine up, and saw her slide out from under the weight, sitting up on the edge of the bench.

"Nice to see you trying to be as good as me" Cardin allowed a sly smile to creep onto his face  
"I was lifting more than you were" Nora glanced out of the corner of her eye  
"I didn't notice" Cardin adjusted his hair  
"Not hard when you're as thick skulled as you" Nora's maniacal smile was back

Ren couldn't help but smile, the way that Nora was so easily able to cut someone down like that was unexpected to most, but, underneath her almost idiotic exterior, Nora was a high-witted genius. "Good job Nora" he thought to himself, folding his arms.

"I wonder how someone so small can lift a hammer so big" Cardin looked and Magnhild which was leaning against the wall  
"I wonder how someone so dumb can think at all" Nora stood up from her seat on the end of the bench.

Cardin was at the end of his fuse, Ren could see it by the bunching up of his fist, and then the way he raised it. _"No, he wouldn't!"_ As fast as she was, Ren knew Nora wouldn't be able to avoid it, there was only one thing he could do.

Nora smiled as she heard what had become a comforting sound to her, Ren drawing a pistol. Because he was in his gym gear, he had only brought one of them, and it had been concealed underneath the back of his shirt. He lifted it so it was adjacent to Cardin's skull, who acknowledged its presence with a small flick of his eye

"Lay a hand on Nora, and I **will** kill you" Ren said, very matter-of-factly.  
"Put the gun down, or I'll put it down for you" Cardin turned to face him  
"You aren't that fast, I'll pull the trigger before you've got your hand to it"  
"You don't have the guts"  
"Try me." Ren pulled back the hammer of his StormFlower with his thumb

Cardin was that fast, Ren didn't see him move, mainly because he didn't go for the pistol, he went straight for Ren's body. A punch to the solar plexus, quickly followed by a huge smash in the middle of his sternum, it sent him flying, he smashed into a wall, dropping the StormFlower as he did so the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was Nora running over to him.

* * *

Ren awoke in a hospital bed, there was a huge pain radiating from his chest, he must have broken some more ribs, he was lucky that was all he hurt, he hit the wall with such force that he was knocked out almost instantly. His senses gradually returned to him, he could see now, his eyes were adjusting to the bright lights. "Is someone crying?" he turned his head towards the muffled sobs.

"Nora?" He hadn't seen her like this in a long time  
"Ren!" she jumped up to hug him, then thought better of it  
"What happened?" he looked at the pink streaks through her makeup, her eyes were bloodshot, she had clearly been crying for a long time.  
"Cardin punched you, you were only protecting me, but you broke more ribs, the doctors say that you have eighteen broken ribs." she choked it out through the sobs  
"Lucky I didn't puncture a lung" Ren's eyes snapped shut, he was clearly in pain  
"That's what the doctors said, they said I won't be able to cuddle you in bed for a few weeks" Nora looked down to the floor

She looked at her best friend, lying on the bed, she couldn't help but burst into tears again, the bandages she had carefully put on had been replaced by plaster, Ren wouldn't be able to leave for a few days, and he wouldn't be training again for a month. It wouldn't matter much to him, he preferred to do the theory based exams, and it was lucky that his aura would help him recover more quickly than a normal person, otherwise he'd be out for much longer. Nora slid her seat forward, placing her hand on top of Ren's who was being given a booster of painkiller from a nurse. He turned his hand, entwining her fingers into his own, he squeezed her hand, an attempt to tell her that he was alright

"Nora, just promise me you won't get into a fight with Cardin while I'm like this" He turned "I can't protect you when I'm lying in a hospital bed."  
"I promise Ren" She said, feeling him slip back off to sleep.

She had nobody to be strong for anymore, she pulled her knees into her chest, she rested her forehead on top of them. The warm sting of tears behind her eyes became too much, she began to loudly weep. The nurse walked over to her, and put an arm around her.

"It's okay sweetie" he said "Your friend is going to be fine" he gently rubbed her back  
"It's not that," Nora looked up at Ren "It's just that," she looked back down "I've just started to realise that I'm in love with him"

* * *

**AUTHORS NOTE**

**Told you something was coming. **

**As always, leave feedback, this chapter is the only one I have been planning since I started the story, I hope you all enjoyed it.**


	6. Chapter 6 - Recovery

_"I can hear her already"_ Ren felt himself smiling as he awoke

He snapped his eyes open, rolling his head on the pillow in his hospital bed. It had been a week since he had gotten into a scuffle with Cardin and ended up here. He saw Nora across the room, staring out the window and singing softly to herself. She wasn't wearing any of her usual attire, instead she was wearing a simple pink t-shirt and a pair of shorts, completed by a pair of pink hi-top sneakers. _"Christmas carols"_ Ren smiled, he loved seeing Nora look happy, even being completely drained like he was.

"Nora" He attempted to suppress a smile upon saying her name  
"Ren!" she yelled, turning around, before suddenly appearing at her seat near his bed

She looked down at her friend from her seat beside him, the look of pain on his face made her upset, but she was glad that he was awake. She reached across and placed her hand on top of his, smiling as she felt him entwine her fingers into his own. She felt as he squeezed her fingers, a sign that, over the past week had become a wordless acknowledgement that everything was going to be alright.

"Do your ribs still hurt?" Nora looked at Ren's chest  
"A little bit, I've been pushing as much Aura as I can spare into them, hopefully at least a few of them have healed, maybe I can leave hospital soon" He smiled reassuringly at his partner.  
"Do you want me to get the doctor? Maybe they can get one of those thingies where you can look at your bones." She stood up  
"It's called an x-ray, Nora" no matter the pain, Ren would always take the chance to correct her  
"Do you want me to get the doctor or not?" Nora tilted her head  
"Yes, please Nora" Ren said, she was already walking towards the door.

* * *

"Well" The doctor looked down at a clipboard "Judging by your x-rays, you should be fine to go home today, almost all of the ribs have healed, an impressive effort on your part"

Nora began to bounce with excitement, she had wanted Ren to get out of the hospital from almost the second he went in, and hopefully she would be able to sleep with him again, she was beginning to get homesick without him next to her. She saw as Ren began to sit up, and quickly rushed over, gently taking his hand, helping him pull himself up.

"It sure was tiring" Ren curled the edges of his lips into a smile "And I know it was hard on you too" He rubbed Nora's arm "Thank you for coming here every day"

Ren swung his legs off the bed, something he had previously only done when he had to go to the bathroom or to have a shower. He felt as Nora held out her arm to offer him support, he placed his hand inside her own, feeling as she helped him up. _"I didn't need that"_ he thought _"But it always feels good to hold her hand"_ he felt himself smiling once again.

"Can I see the x-rays?" Nora turned towards the doctor.

He handed her a sheet of film, clearly an x-ray of Ren's chest. She held it up, looking at the light shining through the white bones against the blackened film. She stared at it for about thirty seconds, the entire time using her free hand to scratch her chin in an attempt to feign thinking.

"Which ribs are still broken?" She stared at the doctor intently  
"They would be the ones that I have circled." The doctor motioned towards three circles on the left side of the film.  
"Of course!" Nora screamed once again staring at the page, now looking closely at the three circles.

Ren had, in the mean time, walked over towards a table, where he found a small, green sports bag that he had asked Nora to pack. He opened it, finding exactly what he had asked for _"That's a surprise"_ he mused to himself, lifting out some of the items within, placing them carefully on the table in front of him.

"Ren!" Nora screamed "All of the broken ribs are on the left side!" She appeared in front of him, holding the piece of film  
"I can see that Nora" Ren looked at the x-ray.  
"So," Nora turned back towards the doctor "does that mean that we can-" She cut herself off  
"You can ask Nora" Ren said, not even lifting his head  
"Does that mean that we can cuddle when we go to bed?" Nora whispered to the doctor.  
"So long as you don't touch the broken ribs it should be fine, the ribs on the right side of Ren's body are stronger now anyway" The doctor went on to explain something, Nora just tuned out.

Ren looked at the clothes he had laid out on the table before him, a pair of boxers, some trousers and a green t-shirt, along with some shoes and socks. He currently stood only in a pair of tracksuit pants that he had worn during his stay in hospital, detesting as he found them, they were comfortable and served their purpose well for his stay.

"Nora" He looked towards his best friend "Can you wait outside while I get changed?"  
"Okay Ren" Nora seemed slightly disappointed.

"Is she always like this?" the doctor asked just before leaving the room  
"Usually" Ren smiled "But I wouldn't want her any other way."

* * *

Nora waited outside, with nothing to entertain her except her own thoughts, she started to find her mind wandering _"Ooh, a Butterfly! Why do you like Ren? Like not just like him, but you like like him."_ her mind however, always came back to one single thing _"You should tell him. No, that's a horrible idea, He'll get scared and run away, well not really, but he doesn't like you, not like that, so why risk it?"_ She began to look down towards her feet, which were awkwardly drawing crescent moon shapes below her.

Ren looked down at his body, the bruises were healed, but the pain was still there. He swore that as he was falling asleep a week ago he had heard Nora say something about love, it had been on his mind ever since. When he had woken back up she had been sent home, and every time he had gone to bring it up something had stopped him. He had a strange feeling whenever he was around her, something that he had never felt before. _"Maybe I should ask Jaune about it,"_ He mused as he pulled a t-shirt over his head _"Or Pyrrha, or Yang, or basically anybody who isn't Jaune."_ he rethought his plans, pulling his hair back into a tight ponytail.

The sound of the door opening filled Nora's ears as her thoughts were quickly broken. She turned to see Ren standing in the doorway, his green sports bag in his left hand, his right was rubbing the back of his neck, he was clearly deep in thought. Nora took a few steps towards him, stopping close to him and looking up at him.

"Can I hug you?" she opened her arms slightly  
"The answer to that question has never stopped you before" Ren smiled down at her  
"But you're hurt" Nora replied "And I don't want to hurt you" she felt as a pair of arms wrapped around her

She lightly placed her head against his chest, she could hear his heart beating, it sounded just like it always did when she heard it, fast, but comforting. She carefully slid her arms around his waist, remembering which ribs were broken, she paid careful attention not to touch them.

He loved her hugs, especially the way that her head fit so perfectly onto his chest. The way that he could feel her heartbeat when they were together like this, it made him realize just how important she was to her, he rested his cheek atop her head, smiling as he felt a pair of strong, soft arms entwine themselves around his waist.

"Come on, Nora" He released himself from the embrace  
"Okay Ren" she started off down the hall

* * *

They walked back into their room, Ren dropped his bag near his closet, not even bothering to put it away properly. He turned, looking towards the amalgamation of single beds that he shared with Nora, it looked like it hadn't been made in weeks, the only sheet that was still on the bed was the fitted sheet, the others were just strewn around the sides of the bed, with the blanket that Nora had clearly been using bunched up directly below her pillow.

"Nice to see you kept the bed so nice" Ren gestured towards the mess  
"I don't like making the bed" Nora shrugged  
"Come on," Ren took a few steps towards it "Help me make it."

Ren couldn't help but smile as he saw Nora skip towards the bed, pushing it away from the wall. He bent down, untangling the mess of sheets that he found at the base of the bed. He threw one up towards Nora, who had now stationed herself at the top of the bed, before bending over to tuck in the corners of the sheet. He glanced back up, noticing Nora crawling along the bed, the front of her t-shirt had fallen down in front of her. He found that he couldn't help but look down it, and, upon catching sight of his friends breasts, blushed and looked away.

_"Did he notice?"_ Nora thought, standing up at the top of the bed, _"He's seen them before"_ she glanced down at her chest _"I should talk to someone. Maybe they can give me some advice, I'll ask Pyrrha, she's smart, she'll know what to do"_

"Nora!" She heard Ren scream her name  
"Yes Ren?" she responded, snapping out of thought  
"You're tuning out a lot lately," Ren noted "Come on, I want to grab something to eat"

* * *

They returned from their dinner, the sun was far below the horizon. Ren pulled his t-shirt off over his head, walking over to the closet, before pulling out a pair of trousers he had begun to use when he was sleeping. He glanced over, noticing Nora performing a similar action, before pulling a pink singlet over her head "Thank goodness she puts that singlet on" he mused to himself as he walked over to the bed.

Nora walked over to the bed, watching as Ren carefully climbed into it. She stopped quickly at her side, reaching down and unbuttoning her shorts, before slipping them off and climbing into bed.

"Nora, are you wearing any pants?" Ren said, watching her climb into bed  
"I've got undies on!" She exclaimed, sliding towards him

Nora rested her head on Ren's chest, entwining her legs into his. She smiled, feeling the familiar arm that slid around her shoulders, holding her tight.

"Nora," Ren whispered "I'm glad I'm here with you again."  
"I'm glad I have my pillow back" Nora slid her arm around his waist

_"There it is again"_ Nora smiled _"His heart is beating faster"_ she thought, drifting off to sleep.

* * *

**AUTHORS NOTE**

**Nothing too unusual here, Don't stress, they're going to get together, soon. **

**As always leave feedback, it does help. Hope you enjoyed it!**


	7. Chapter 7 - Advice

Ren woke up, feeling the body of his best friend pressed up against him. He smiled as he felt the arm that had wrapped itself around his waist tightened slightly, reciprocating it in the arm that he had wrapped around her.

"Ren" he heard a whisper from his shoulder  
"Yes, Nora?" he replied, his own voice a whisper  
"What day is it today?"  
"It's Saturday, I think" He said, smiling slightly.  
"Can we go and do something?" Nora arched her neck so she was looking at him.  
"If you want" Ren looked down at her, "But we both need a shower"

Nora jumped out of bed, bounding over to her closet, she reached in, pulling out a pink towel and toiletries bag, she walked towards the door, turning around and smiling at her partner before she left the room.

Ren heard the handle on the door click shut, rolling over in bed he looked across the room, noticing Pyrrha sitting at a desk. He sat up in bed, swinging his legs off the edge of the bed. Standing up, he walked slowly towards his closet, before removing a towel and draping it over his shoulder.

"I wish I had a friend like the two of you are" Pyrrha spoke up from her desk  
"You've got Jaune" Ren looked over at his teammate.  
"You think Jaune would ever let me crawl into bed with him?" Pyrrha spun around.  
"Probably not, but that's not all as good as you might think" Ren looked at Pyrrha, his face showing some kind of confusion.  
"You seem confused" Pyrrha inferred

Ren dropped his towel onto the floor, walking over to his teammates desk, he turned around, gently leaning on it. Pyrrha slid her chair out slightly so she could easily look up at him when he spoke, the kind look that was usual for her. Ren noticed that she was wearing about as little as Nora had the night before. "What is it with girls in this room?" he thought to himself, quickly averting his eyes from Pyrrha's lower body.

"Do you, uh" Ren paused "Want some shorts or something?" Nobody could say that he wasn't modest.

He watched on as Pyrrha looked down at herself, before quickly covering her lower half.

"Oh! Ren!" She ran over to her closet "I'm sorry, I didn't realise!" she said, pulling on a pair of dark shorts.  
"That's fine" he laughed slightly, watching as Pyrrha walked back over to him, she was clearly blushing "You see me without a shirt on all the time"  
"So," Pyrrha sat back down "What were you saying earlier?"

* * *

Nora stepped out of the shower, covering herself with a towel she walked to the mirror to begin to do her makeup. Looking intently in the mirror she carefully applied it, "It's difficult to make it look like you don't wear makeup" she stared at her own reflection. She carefully finished her makeup, before running a pink brush through her hair. She felt a sharp, but slight pain on her behind, spinning around to look at her attacker, she saw the golden mane of Yang Xiao Long.

"Oh, hi Yang!" she smiled "Did you just pinch my butt?" she looked at her friend  
"You loved it" Yang smiled back at her "I think this is the first time I've walked in here when you're doing your makeup and not singing" she observed "Is everything okay?"  
"Oh, yeah" Nora noticed she hadn't even been humming. "I guess I just have a lot on my mind"  
"Well" Yang said, pulling her singlet over her head "If you want to talk, I'm here"

Nora grabbed the shorts she had in her toiletries bag, and pulled them on underneath her towel, before dropping it and pulling a pink singlet over her head. She turned around, leaning on the countertop, before revealing her issue to Yang.

"It's Ren" She looked at the floor.  
"Oh" Yang seemed surprised "Did you get in a fight or something?"  
"No" She bunched her lips up at the side of her face "It's just that-" Nora trailed off  
"Did he get a girlfriend or something?" Yang cocked her head  
"No. Wait, have you seen him with a girl? Because like that's totally not cool! he should have told me! I don't want him to have a girlfriend!" Every one of Nora's sentences seemed to amalgamate into one.  
"Oh wow" Yang looked at her friend "You totally have a huge crush on him"  
"Is that bad?" Nora looked for advice.

* * *

"It's Nora" Ren started, remaining as cryptic as always  
"Well" Pyrrha looked over to the bed Ren had just crawled out of "You clearly haven't had a fight"  
"No," Ren confirmed her suspicions, "It's something completely different"  
"Well, just tell me" Pyrrha smiled at her teammate, lightly rubbing his arm

Ren fidgeted nervously, running his hand through his hair he pulled it back into a ponytail, he got up and began to pace back and forth near Pyrrha's desk. The redhead simply sat there, looking at him with her usual smile on her face. He found her presence comforting, especially on the battlefield, but would that knowledge transfer into this situation? "Why are you pacing" he thought to himself, running his right hand through his hair.

"Ren," Pyrrha's soft, kind voice permeated through his ears "Is everything alright?"  
"It's just that," He paused "I've started to see Nora," He paused once again, walking over to the window "differently."  
"What do you mean by that?" Pyrrha cocked her head slightly  
"It's like, when I woke up in hospital, I heard her humming something, I think it was a Christmas Carol, and I felt myself begin to smile. Oh, and when she was holding my hand while I was in bed, I just felt safe" He allowed his sentences to string together.  
"Breathe" Pyrrha offered her first piece of advice for the day.  
"What?" Ren looked at her, confused.  
"You didn't take a breath that entire three sentences" She looked him in the eye  
"And," Ren looked towards his bed "I swear that just as I was going off to sleep when I was in hospital, she told the nurse that she was in love with me"

* * *

"There's nothing bad about it, Nora" Yang smiled at her friend  
"But he's my friend, and he'd never think about me like that" Nora pulled her arms in front of her, bringing about an unusually timid form.  
"He might" Yang smiled "Maybe you just need to enjoy the thrill of the chase" Yang kissed the air mockingly  
"The chase?" Nora questioned.  
"Have some fun, you want him, you've gotta get him" Yang smiled

Nora turned around, looking back in the mirror, she looked herself up and down. She could see as her chest heaved from deep breaths, and as the expression on her face changed from one of confusion, to one of complete disappointment. "It won't work" She thought aloud, flicking her eyes towards Yang in the mirror. "Ren has never had a girlfriend before, I don't think he's ever even had a crush on someone before" she bunched up her lips again "And he wouldn't look at me like that."

"Not necessarily" Yang said, smiling "You've got some good qualities"  
"Like what?" Nora's insecurities began to surface

"Well, you're a really nice girl, underneath the, um," Yang paused, searching for words, "hyperactive surface" She saw as Nora's smile came back to her face. "And you are pretty, really pretty, I almost find myself jealous sometimes" She smiled at her friend. "Oh," Yang took a step forward, finding herself close enough to touch Nora. "You have got these" She raised a hand, gently tapping Nora's breast. "Guys tend to like it when they're nice, big and perky like ours are" she winked.

* * *

"So what?" Pyrrha began to inquire "You think she might have feelings for you?"  
"No, not that, I was so drugged up on painkillers that I was seeing flowers start to sprout through the room, I wouldn't pay attention to hearing her say she loved me" He continued to gaze out the window.  
"Ren," Pyrrha ran a hand through her hair "Can you just tell me what you're trying to get at?" She kept her smile on her face.  
"I think," Ren paused "I think that I might have feelings for her"

He stared out the window, at the clouds. _"If only it was as easy for me as it is for you"_ he thought, a silent, one sided conversation with the white balls of fluff. _"You can just go where the wind takes you. You don't need to think about things, it just all falls into line for you."_ He turned around, looking back at his teammate and friend, the only person who he had ever mentioned any of this to.

"Alright" Pyrrha stood up from her seat, taking a few steps towards him.  
"There's something wrong with this" He shook his head  
"There's nothing wrong with it," Pyrrha smiled, gently resting her hand on his arm "It's perfectly normal for someone to like another person, especially when those two people are as close as you and Nora are."  
"Do you have any ideas on how to go about this?" Ren found his eyes lock to Pyrrha's

* * *

"So what?" Nora cocked her head "I just walk around showing off my boobs to him? Because I tried that, all he did was tell me to put a shirt on." She bit the inside of her lip.  
"Ren is overly modest" Yang smiled "Once he told me that I shouldn't be exercising in nothing but a sports bra and shorts. No other guys complained"  
"What should I do?" Nora asked her friend  
"Well" Yang looked at her scroll "The end of year dance is in three days, after that we all go home for Christmas, I'm assuming that he'd be your date anyway, at the end of the dance, kiss him." Yang said, as though her plan was totally simple.  
"That's it?" Nora asked "just take him to the dance and kiss him?"  
"It's that simple sweetie." Yang smiled at her  
"That actually might work!" Nora screamed, pulling Yang into a massive hug "Thank you Yang!"

* * *

"Well," Pyrrha paused, clearly in thought "There is that dance, You're already taking Nora aren't you?"  
"I haven't asked her yet, but probably" Ren seemed slightly confused  
"Well then, you take her to that, be super romantic, buy her flowers and chocolates, and cook her pancakes, she seems to love that" Pyrrha smiled  
"She does love it when I cook her pancakes" Ren laughed  
"Well, do all that, then at the end of the dance, tell her you like her" Pyrrha presented her plan  
"That simple?" Ren smiled  
"That simple." Pyrrha confirmed, pulling him into a gentle hug

Ren couldn't help but start to laugh as a familiar smell filled his nostrils.

"Something funny?" Pyrrha stepped back slightly  
"It's just that you and Nora use the same shampoo" He felt his mouth curl into a smile  
"How can you tell?" Pyrrha felt herself smile slightly  
"They both smell of juniper berries." Ren allowed a low chuckle to escape his throat.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Dance

Nora looked through the closet, eyeing the only formal dress that she had brought to Beacon with her. She was going to wear it to the dance tonight. As per Yang's advice she was going with Ren, even though he had asked her before she got the chance to ask him. She looked at the dress bag hanging there. _"I can't let Ren see it before the dance"_ she thought to herself _"it's bad luck if he sees my dress before the dance"_ she thought about what he would be wearing _"Probably just a suit, that's what most of the guys will be wearing"_ she turned around, seeing Pyrrha sitting across the room.

"What are you wearing tonight?" Nora appeared across the room  
"A dress, it's in my closet if you want to see it" Pyrrha neglected to even look up from the work she was trying to finish.

Nora jumped over to her teammates closet, pulling it open and revealing a brown, strapless dress. She pulled it out, holding it up and admiring it. She turned around, forcing Pyrrha, who was only wearing a brown singlet and a pair of shorts that barely covered her lower body, to stand up, holding it in front of her. She made a variety of sounds showing her approval, eventually culminating in her screaming at the top of her lungs.

"You're gonna look beautiful!" She said as she admired the brown dress, along with her teammate's body  
"I'm sure you'll look amazing too Nora" Pyrrha smiled "Can I see your dress?"  
"I'd show you, but if Ren walks in when I have it out and he sees it it's bad luck!" Nora began to explain  
"Isn't that a wedding dress?" Pyrrha narrowed her eyes slightly.  
"It's the same thing!" Nora defended her opinion.

Ren held up his scroll to the door, hearing as the lock disengaged and twisted the handle, walking into the room.

"See!" Nora yelled as he entered "He would have seen it and then it would have been bad luck!" she turned towards Pyrrha.  
"That's a wedding dress, Nora" Ren corrected her  
"It's the same thing!" she bent at the hips, staring at him  
"Well how are you going to get dressed?" He smirked  
"Yang said that I could go and get dressed across the hall, oh, she said you could come too, Pyrrha" she smiled, having won the argument.

Nora grabbed the dress out of her closet and walked towards the door, she opened it, gesturing for Pyrrha to follow.

"You go" Pyrrha smiled "I'll get changed here" she saw as Nora disappeared across the hall.

"So" Pyrrha smiled, walking over to him "Big night tonight, are you going to ask her?"  
"I was planning on telling her during a slow dance" Ren smirked, his exterior hiding how nervous he was  
"Smooth" Pyrrha smiled "I hope she says yes, the two of you are cute together"  
"I just hope I don't ruin it all" He allowed his nerves to show slightly  
"You won't" Pyrrha gently rubbed his arm "You'll be fine"

* * *

Ren walked out into the hallway, he tugged at the lapels of the black suit he had put on. The dark green trim contrasted with the black. He smiled, looking down at the black shirt he had worn, along with a green tie which stood out starkly against the other, darker colours of his suit. He glanced at the pink lock of hair which had fallen in front of his left eye, reminiscing over the time when Nora had forced him to dye it. He heard as Pyrrha walked out behind him, her dress fell almost to the floor, with a long slit up the side, showing off her left leg.

"You look lovely Pyrrha" Ren smiled at his friend  
"As do you." she smiled back, "Come on, let's go get her."

They walked across the hall, stopping just in front of the door directly across from them, a sign was posted on the front, informing all that did not know that Team RWBY called this room home. Ren reached out, knocking lightly on the door, and hearing as a familiar voice came from behind it.

"Is that you Ren?" Nora called out  
"Yes, come on, let's go" He replied  
"Turn around" She called out, clearly looking through the peephole

Ren sighed, before turning around, looking at Pyrrha with an expression showing a mixture of eagerness and contempt for Nora's antics. He heard as the handle on the door was turned, before the distinct sound of the door being pulled from it's frame filled his ears. He heard as footsteps advanced towards him, before feeling a hand press on his arm. The expression on Pyrrha's face only confirmed what he had suspected. She was going to look beautiful.

"Okay" Nora said "You can turn around"

Ren spun on his heel, finding himself staring into the big, blue orbs that were his partner's eyes. She was clearly wearing makeup, something unusual for Nora, who often made an effort to hide the makeup she wore, her hair had been curled, and she had her usual massive smile on her face. He began to look down at what she was wearing. she had donned a pink dress, which covered her shoulders, and slowly faded to white as it neared the floor. It stopped only just above her feet, showing off a pair of high-heeled shoes, which made her a few inches taller.

"You look beautiful, Nora" He smiled at his best friend and partner  
"You look very handsome, Ren" she smiled back, taking him by the hand

* * *

They walked into the amphitheatre which had been transformed into a dancefloor for the evening, they saw as people danced, laughed, smiled and had a good time, Ren wanted nothing more than to find a seat with his friends and simply talk. He knew that Nora would not have a bar of it, she would want to dance, and she would drag him out onto the dancefloor if she had to. He felt as the hand which had become wrapped around his arm began to tug him towards the floor.

"Come on!" Nora screamed above the music "We need to dance!"

Nora dragged her friend desperately towards the dancefloor, getting there just before the end of a song. She held out a hand, her eyes begging him to take it. She saw as Ren's smile formed across his face, before he reached out and took her by the hand. She felt as he placed a hand on her waist, reciprocating the gesture on his.

"Do you even know how to dance, Nora?" Ren asked, watching her clumsily maneuver her way through the dance  
"It can't be that hard, I'm just focusing on wearing high heels" She fidgeted awkwardly on the dancefloor  
"Just follow my lead," Ren smiled, looking down at her.  
"I'll try" She smiled back  
"I have to ask," Ren began "I'm offended that Cardin can still walk, why didn't you beat the life out of him?"  
"Professor Goodwitch got between us before I had the chance, and Professor Ozpin said that he'd expel me if I retaliated, but I really wanted to break his legs" she said, beaming at her partner.

Ren felt as Nora's feet went out from underneath her, sending her sprawling towards him. They collapsed on the floor, a twisted heap of arms and legs. He felt as she attempted to untangle herself from him, and found himself mimicking her actions, before feeling a pair of hands push up on his chest, and feeling Nora's body move off his own. He stood up, noticing a few people looking at them, most of them laughing.

"I'm sorry, Ren" She whispered as he stood next to her  
"It's fine Nora," He replied with a smile "I'm used to you being clumsy"

Ren felt as a hand tapped him on the shoulder, he glanced over it. He saw the redhead who had become his confidant over the last week, holding a hand out in a request for a dance. He looked back to Nora, who now had Jaune enacting a similar request, before he turned, taking his teammate by the hand.

"What are you doing?" He asked, feeling as a hand was placed on his waist  
"I may have just gone and asked the DJ-"  
"You mean Professor Port?" Ren interrupted  
"Yes," Pyrrha sounded slightly irritated "Professor Port"  
"And what is the relevance of this?" Ren requested more information  
"If you allowed me to speak" She smiled kindly "I would have told you that a slow dance is coming up soon, apparently the only one for the night. That's your chance to tell her, if you plan on taking it." Pyrrha informed him, as though she were planning for a battle  
"Thank you, Pyrrha" Ren smiled  
"Go get her." she smiled back at him, gesturing to Jaune to release Nora

As she returned to her partner, Nora heard as the music changed, a slow beat. She rested her head on Ren's chest, feeling as he wrapped an arm around her waist, taking her by the hand. "His heart is racing," she noticed "I hope that everything is alright." She thought to herself, beginning to plan her actions at the end of the night.

"Nora" Ren whispered "There's something that I have been meaning to tell you"  
"What's that?" she asked, looking up at him  
"It's just that-" Ren found himself trailing off.

_"Come on Ren!"_ he yelled within his own mind _"You have practiced this with Pyrrha so many times! Just say it!"_

"I've been having these feelings, and, well, I think I'm in love with you."

The plans that Nora had for the end of the night began to spring into action, she grabbed Ren by the lapels of his suit, pulling him down towards her. He opened his mouth, an expression of shock. She took the opportunity, planting her own lips against his.

Ren felt the soft, red lips of his partner as they pressed up against his own. His senses went into overdrive, he could not ignore the sweet taste of the gloss that was now beginning to seep into his mouth. He heard people beginning to clap, he heard as some of his more vocal friends, especially Yang yelled out at the pair.

Nora relished in the feeling she had longed for so much, even if it did happen at the wrong moment. She felt as Ren's hands slid around behind her waist, holding her gently but firmly in the kiss.

"Wh-what was that?" Ren said as he broke their kiss  
"It's called a kiss, Ren" Nora beamed up at him, "I feel the same way about you, I realised it when you were in hospital, you didn't mind, did you?" her expression changed slightly  
"I've never been one for public displays of affection" He smiled back at her, as the walked away from the clapping crowds.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**So yeah, it happened, I hope everyone has enjoyed the story thus far, It's one of my favourite stories to write. As always leave feedback. **


	9. Chapter 9 - Merry Christmas

"_Can I hear Christmas Carols?" _The thought ran through Ren's head before he opened his eyes

He rolled over in the bed, reaching out for Nora, finding the bed empty, he opened his eyes, a displeased look on his face. He glanced down at the pink sheets, finding the usual sign that Nora had been somewhere, complete destruction. Sheets formed a tangled mess, the blanket was almost sitting at the foot of the bed. He looked across the room, noticing the absence of the remainder of his team, the only other person in the room was the only other person he wanted to see.

"Good morning Nora" He smiled, watching as she walked around the room in nothing but her underwear  
"Morning Ren!" She sung, affording him a quick glance before returning to her previous task  
"What are you doing?" He felt a smile come across his face, watching as she danced through the room  
"Decorating!" she spun around "It's Christmas soon and I need to decorate!"

She turned around, looking at the mess that was her boyfriend "_Boyfriend" _she repeated in her head "_It still feels weird to say that" _she smiled. She watched as he stood up, beginning to walk towards her. He never wore a shirt to bed anymore, only a pair of tracksuit pants that she loved to entangle her legs into on the cold winter nights. She felt as the strong, calloused hand that so often protected her was placed on her shoulder, before a gentle kiss was planted against her forehead, something Ren had been doing every morning since they got together.

"Do you want pancakes?" Ren said, walking towards the small camping stove that the team had acquired  
"Yes please!" Nora said, "Do we have any syrup?"  
"Uh" Ren looked in the cupboard below the stove "Looks like we have a bit, don't go eating it before I finish cooking them okay?"  
"Okay!" Nora said, her voice clearly showing a level of irritation

He mixed the batter, pouring it into a pan. While he was watching it cook he could hear as Nora sung while decorating the room behind him. "_This is what you signed up for" _he smiled to himself, flipping over one of the pancakes.

"Nora! It's ready!" he said, turning around to an empty room. "Where did you go?" He said, walking towards the centre of the room. He noticed the door to Nora's closet open a crack, hearing giggling coming from inside of it. "Alright then" He was going to flush her out "I'll just finish the syrup by myself!"

As soon as he finished the sentence she was sitting there in front of him, holding the bottle of syrup. Smiling, she watched as Ren looked back to his hand, where it once had been, then resigning to the fact that she would get the first pour, just like always. Once she had satisfactorily drowned her pancakes in the syrup, she handed the near empty bottle back to him, allowing him to pour the remnants of the bottle into only a few drops on top of one of his pancakes.

"Sorry" she beamed across at him, sitting cross legged.

He took the opportunity to look at her body, the previous guilt no longer playing at his conscience. She was sitting there, wearing nothing but her underwear. He felt the corners of his lips prick up as he took in the pale skin before him. The pink bra covering her breasts was adorned with love hearts, the pink underwear covering her lower body left very little to the imagination. As he finished, he returned his gaze to her face, noticing a distinct smirk plastered across it.

"Do I look good?" Nora asked, shovelling another piece of pancake into her mouth, still dripping with syrup  
"Not when you eat half a pancake in one bite" He smirked back at her, noticing as syrup seeped past her lips.  
"You love me" Nora teased, glaring at him jokingly  
"Don't remind me" he smiled, cutting off a small bite of his pancake, "Come here a second?"

Ren put the piece of his breakfast into his mouth, before reaching across to his girlfriend, he placed his hand behind her head, pulling her into a kiss. It was sweet, a symptom of a combination of lip gloss, copious amounts of syrup and properly cooked pancakes. He felt as Nora smiled into him, he always loved the way she did that, especially when he was stealing syrup.

"We still have to finish decorating the room" Nora observed looking around at the already tinsel covered walls  
"What exactly could we add?" Ren looked around  
"I'm glad you asked!" Nora leapt up, beginning to appear at various points around the room

"We could put a tree here!" She appeared in the corner  
"There is no room for a tree, Nora"  
"And we could put some tinsel here!" She said, standing on Jaune's bed  
"Nora, I don't think there is any tinsel left"  
"Oh and this is where we could hang our stockings!" She pointed to a spot on the wall  
"That one actually makes a bit of sense"  
"And this!" She appeared just behind Ren "Is where I get my Christmas kiss!" she wrapped her arms around his neck, hanging onto his back.

"Well," Ren began his reply, "I'll be sure to give it to you on Christmas day" he smirked, looking at the head which appeared over his shoulder.

Looking over towards Nora's desk, Ren noticed a long roll of paper, along with some coloured pencils. "_When did she buy that?" _he wondered to himself, looking at Nora, who was now beaming towards him.

"So since we couldn't fit a Christmas tree in here, I thought we could draw one!" She yelled dragging him over to the desk.

He began to draw the outline of a Christmas tree, watching as Nora grabbed other pencils, beginning to add green, red and of course pink within the confines Ren had created. As the length of the paper tree began to exceed the room on the desk, they moved it to the floor, Ren laid down on his stomach to continue drawing, feeling as Nora laid down on his back, her bare skin pressed up against his, only the stiffened fabric of her bra separating their bodies. He could feel the vibrations from her body as she hummed. Smiling as he received a kiss against the side of his neck for his efforts.

"Okay" Nora smiled carrying the now six foot long piece of paper towards the corner "Let's put this up"

* * *

Nora awoke to the feeling of a familiar hand sliding down her back, patting her gently on the waist. She attempted to hide her face against Ren's shoulder, finding that it only made the hand grip her tighter. She snapped her eyes open, looking into the pink orbs that were staring down at her. She nuzzled into her boyfriend, who smiled down at her, before propping herself up on his chest, bringing herself forward to meet his lips in a tender kiss. The taste was familiar, the hands digging lightly into her sides made her smile. She allowed herself to fall, landing hard against Ren's chest, winding him slightly.

"Merry Christmas Beautiful" the first words to escape his mouth  
"It's Christmas!" she screamed, "We need to open our-" She was cut off by Ren grabbing her before she jumped out of bed  
"Nora," He held the blanket down on top of her "Please make sure you have a shirt on before running across the room, and preferably a pair of pants, Jaune and Pyrrha are both here"  
"He's right!" Jaune called out from across the room.

Nora slid out from the bed, sitting down beside it, the only thing covering her body from the cold air was a pair of lacy, pink underwear, she pulled a pair of pink tracksuit pants over them. She reached for her singlet, which she had discarded the night before, just after climbing into bed with Ren. She pulled it down over her body, before standing up, turning to look at Ren, who was still laying in bed, exactly where she had left him.

"Do you have any pants on?" she smirked at him  
"I'm wearing boxers" He replied, voice laced with apathy  
"Well put some trousers on and get over to the tree, Pyrrha and Jaune are already sitting there!" Nora said, looking over at her teammates  
"Pass me them" he pointed to the trousers he had removed the night before.

After sliding into a pair of trousers, Ren accompanied his partner across the room to the tree, seeing the rest of his team already sitting there, patiently waiting. Jaune was wearing the pyjamas that he usually wore, complete with bunny slippers. Pyrrha was wearing a long, dark red robe, probably a combination of covering her body as well as keeping warm. Everyone had the obvious look of just crawling out of bed, still wiping sleep from their eyes.

Everyone picked up the present left for them under the tree, the team had agreed to buy one for their partner, meaning that everybody got one gift from their closest friends. Nora took no time before ripping into the pink tissue paper Ren had used to wrap her present. She pulled out a strange vial on the end of a string, filled with sand, which seemed to be dyed pink. She eyed it intently, as though attempting to decipher a difficult puzzle

"It's sand, from the beach" Ren informed her  
"Oh" Nora seemed almost disappointed.  
"I brought it with us when we left home, I know how much you miss it and-" Ren was interrupted by a kiss  
"I love it!" Nora screamed, securing it around your neck after breaking away from the kiss.

Ren watched on as Pyrrha opened her gift, revealing a simple polishing kit for her shield, she awkwardly hugged Jaune, who seemed almost too shocked to return the gesture. Then as Jaune opened his, finding a sharpening kit, seemingly designed for a child, if the graphics on the front were any judge.

"My first sharpening kit" Jaune read what was written on the box, starting to smirk  
"At least you can stop making me sharpen that sword for you" Pyrrha lightly tapped him on the arm  
"Open yours Ren" Nora began to poke at his sides, pushing a box wrapped in pink tissue towards him  
"You know I like green" he looked at it  
"Yeah, but I stole the paper from you" She smiled, tilting her head slightly

He opened the box, finding inside a picture of the two of them from a few years ago. Ren's face was covered in pimples, his hair lacking the small, pink streak that he had come to be known for. Nora was slightly more recognisable, even without her ample chest, she hadn't changed much in the years, and even in this picture stood shorter than Ren, who had a face that looked like it belonged to a ten year old.

"Turn it over" she whispered into his ear  
"Dear Ren," he began, reading the writing on the back of the frame "You're the best friend and most amazing boyfriend I could ask for, I love you"

"I love you too Nora" He smiled, pulling her into a soft kiss.


	10. Chapter 10 - Teenage Dream

Ren could feel as the girl in his arms began to stir, the hair against his shoulder began to tickle him as the redhead jumped and squirmed. He smiled as he saw her lips began to move slightly, hearing as tiny noises escaped from her lips. She tightened her grip on his waist, lightly digging her fingernails into his side. He felt as she woke up, before she lept out of bed, hands bunched into fists, screaming.

"Come on Ren! We can take them!"  
"Nora" He looked towards her "What are you talking about?"  
"Oh" she looked around at her bedroom "I think I had a dream"  
"Guys." Jaune interjected "If you want to talk, can you go out? We're trying to sleep"  
"Sorry Jaune!" Nora dropped her voice "Come on Ren!" she dragged her boyfriend out the door, barely leaving enough time for the pair to get dressed.

* * *

She walked alongside her boyfriend, who seemed like he didn't want to be out of bed, if the expression on his face was anything to go by. She smiled up at him, hoping that he wouldn't be too upset with her.

"So," Ren said, reaching one of the common rooms "tell me about this dream" he sat down on a couch  
"Well!" Nora yelled, feeling a jab in her side, a sign to drop her voice "We were back in the forest we had our initiation in."  
"The Emerald Forest?" Ren inquired  
"Yeah, that one." Nora confirmed, the one where I rode an Ursa through the forest and when we met Pyrrha and Jaune and fought that giant scorpion-y thing."  
"It's called a Deathstalker, Nora" he smiled slightly, correcting her  
"That's not relevant!"

It was obvious that Nora was excited, even a passive observer would be able to notice the flailing arms and varying tones of voice. Especially the way that at times, she closed her eyes into a squint, as though she was staring down a large Grimm. Ren smiled, noticing as her aura fluctuated slightly, the telltale sign of excitement in his partner, it hadn't yet reached the levels it usually did when she was making something up, or when she was exaggerating, which happened often.

"So we were walking through the forest, oh yeah! it was night!" She started  
"Nope" Ren interjected  
"Fine it was day" Nora strung the sentence into one word  
"Sounds more like it"

"And then we walking into this clearing, and there were Ursi all through it" she continued with her story  
"Really? Ursi?"  
"Beowulves" she looked towards the floor, her voice dropping in tone  
"You know I can tell when you lie right?" Ren smirked  
"Obviously!" Nora's voice was slightly sarcastic

"But there were so many of them! There had to have been dozens!" she grabbed his arm  
"How many were there really?"  
"Two" she glared at him "stop letting the facts getting into the way of a good story!"  
"This isn't a story, Nora, you're telling me about a dream" He berated her slightly  
"It's a story that my brain made up when I was sleeping!" she yelled at him

"How does it finish?" He smiled at her  
"Well, we kill all of them and-" she trailed off, seemingly ashamed  
"And?" Ren pressed, doing all he could to hide a chuckle  
"We may have booped" Nora averted her eyes, using her euphemism for sex  
"How many times is that this month?" Ren inquired  
"Almost every night" Nora whispered "I can't help it, I just think about it a lot" she scrunched her nose slightly.

She felt as a pair of strong hands pressed lightly against her shoulders, before tasting the incredible sensation of Ren's lips, she draped her arms lazily around his neck, allowing him to remain in charge, for now. The trembling of her lips was begging him just to break the barrier that they created, she longed to taste his tongue, feel the sensation that the taste brought with it. She felt as he slid his hands down to her waist, pulling her from a seated position until she was lying down on the couch.

Ren felt as a pair of playful hands found their way to the hair which was laying behind his back, each individual strand fell through slender fingers. Tracing their way along his spine, he could feel the giggles that emanated from his partner lying below him. He slid a hand up from her waist, sliding it in behind her head, he gently propped it up, touching his forehead against hers and breaking the kiss for a moment

"We can't do this here can we?" Nora asked from below him  
"We won't go too far" he whispered in reply "And it's not like we can really go back to our room."

Nora never bothered to answer, she allowed her hands to resume their previous task, playing with the sensitive regions along Ren's back. She felt as Ren once again placed his lips up against hers, feeling as he slid his right hand under her shirt, beginning to play with the ticklish flesh on her waist. The cold air surrounding them began to lick at the now exposed skin of her stomach. Continuing to play with Ren's hair and the nerves on his back, she felt exactly what she had hoped for.

Tired of playing games, Ren pushed his tongue into his partner's mouth, darting past the barrier of cheap lip gloss and smudged makeup that Nora had left up. He felt as she tried to use her tongue to fight a battle against his, pushing against it. He slid his tongue across her lips, feeling as Nora's body trembled slightly beneath him. Smiling into the kiss, he slicked his tongue to the roof of her mouth, the familiar taste was comforting, even as he felt the indecent hands of his partner slide around his shoulders and down the sides of his body.

Nora reached for the base of the Beacon Academy t-shirt her boyfriend had carelessly pulled on before escaping from their room. She pulled it off over his head, watching as he pulled it down the back of his hair, allowing it to fall in a heap onto the floor next to him. She maneuvered her hands over his body, stopping at each of his muscles, allowing herself to exhale a slight moan at their touch. She loved his body, especially the way that each toned, hard muscle stuck out, always giving her something to hold on to. She felt as Ren's hand slid up her torso further, applying pressure to her chest.

Reaching down just above her waist, Nora grabbed at the pink shirt that was blocking Ren's view, revealing the lacy, pink bra that she had worn to bed that night. She looked up at Ren, who was smiling, clearly enjoying the view of the exposed, pale, goosebumped flesh below him. She felt his hands sliding down her sides once again, the calloused hands which provided her with such levels of comfort, which had over time become sources for both pleasure and pain, she slid her hand up her partner's back, grabbing the hair which fell along his back.

Ren felt as his neck arched back, the first sign that Nora was becoming impatient. The pain which radiated from his skull began to draw a slight smile across his face, even if it was hurting him, it meant that Nora was getting pleasure from it. He felt as Nora's other hand slid its way around his body, curling into claws at his back. She slid it along the exposed skin, leaving four parallel marks along the length of his spine, he felt as drops of blood slid down his back, seeing Nora's gleaming smile below him, her patience had clearly reached the end, it was time for Nora to have her fun.

She grabbed at Ren's waist, spinning him around onto the couch below them. They created a tangled mess, allowing Nora to pin her partner between her legs. Using her thighs she held his waist down, preventing him from wriggling away. She pressed her hands against his chest, holding his torso down. Even if Ren had tried to struggle, Nora's strength was superior to anything that Ren was able to produce without supplementing his strength with Aura, an action that risked him hurting his girlfriend.

Leaning down, Nora gently planted a kiss against Ren's neck, she pressed them against various regions of his spine, stopping as she reached the tip of his right shoulderblade. She planted one final kiss against his body, before brandishing her teeth, sinking them into him. She smiled into her attack, feeling as Ren's body tried unconsciously to kick out of the hold of her jaws. She released the bite before breaking his skin, feeling as Ren's arms slipped behind her back.

Ren smiled, feeling as the stiffened fabric of his partner's bra fell against his chest, giving him an unrestricted view of her body. His hands traced her curves, he relished the feeling, feeling as his lips curled into a smile. Nora loved the view she got, it was uncommon to see Ren with a smile, even less so to see the imprint of her teeth at the base of his neck. The feeling of his hands rubbing against the sensitive parts of her torso brought subtle moans forth from the deepest parts of her very being. She slowly lifted her legs away from his, reaching back for her shirt.

"Is that what your dream was like?" He smiled at her  
"The dream had an ending that was slightly more," Nora paused, searching for words, "satisfying"  
"Nora," Ren sighed, rubbing at the wounds on his neck, "if that isnt satisying enough for you, then I dont want to know what is"

He slid his legs around from his spot on the couch, bringing himself up to a seated position, he looked around at his feet for the shirt that he had discarded earlier in the heated evening. He felt as a strong, familiar set of arms wrapped themselves around his waist, feeling as the clothed body of his partner was pressed up against his back. The comforting arms were not for him however, as hands began to slide up and down his chest. He could feel as Nora rested her head between his shoulderblades, her warm breath condensing against the cold skin of his back

She felt as a shirt nudged against the back of her head, asking her to allow it to get past. She relinquished all form of contact she had with her partner, allowing him to cover his body. She glanced over to where the upright cushions touched against the rear of the cushions sitting at the bottom of the lounge, noticing a dash of pink staring back at her. She quickly grabbed her bra and shoved it into her waistband, smiling towards Ren as she did so.

"Imagine how embarrassed you would be if someone found that." Ren looked at Nora  
"Imagine how embarrassed _you_ would be" She replied, gently tapping him on the nose.

"Come on" he did all he could to hide the scarlet spreading across his face "Let's go to bed"

Nora smiled as she felt a hand entwine with her own, resting her head against Ren's shoulder _"so this is what it feels like"_ she pondered, feeling as Ren squeezed her hand.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**Well, that just happened, hopefully everybody enjoyed this chapter, it was admittedly one of the most enjoyable to write. As always leave feedback, your advice and encouragement has assisted greatly in my writing of this story**

**Also, as I publish this, My Hyperactive Best Friend has 104 followers, I would name all of you but I would definitely miss one of you, thank you all for your support, I look forward to continuing writing this story with your support.  
**


	11. Chapter 11 - The Tournament

She felt as the boy she was using as a pillow stirred beneath her. All she could think about was how nervous he had been over the past few days, all because of this tournament. Ren had been talking about it for the past week, never in a good way, he was worried that she would be put up against Cardin, about how he would hurt her, and how he didn't want it to happen. She tried to snuggle into him, trying to calm him down without needing to wake him up. It was all in vain, his stirring became more violent, until, eventually, he woke up with a jump. She felt as he held her close, before releasing her from his grip. He sat up, legs draping over the side of the bed.

"Another bad dream?" Nora wrapped her arms around his waist.  
"Yes"  
"Cardin again?" She placed her head in the crook of his neck  
"Yes"  
"He hurt me again?" Nora's voice was kind, and caring  
"Yes"

Ren had been having the same nightmare for the past week. He and Nora would be put up against Cardin for the tournament tryouts, and he would be absolutely relentless, beating Nora within an inch of her life. Never had Ren been able to intervene in his dreams, yet every single time he was forced to watch as his best friend, partner and girlfriend was injured so badly that he feared for her life, every single time he would try to run over to her, and every single time he would fail.

"I'll be fine" Nora attempted to quell his fears  
"I know" Ren replied  
"I probably won't even have to fight Cardin, and if I do I can totally take him, and you'll be there anyway" Nora smiled.  
"I'm still worried about you, the first round is today" Ren rested his head in his hands

Gently, Nora pressed her lips up against Ren's neck, trying to soothe his fears. She held him tightly around the waist, using her legs, which sat either side of his, to squeeze him a bit harder. She felt as he shrugged her off, before he spun around and kissed her on the forehead, placing one of his hands in the middle of her back. She took the chance to grab at his shoulders, pulling him down towards her, meeting his lips with her own. She held him in the kiss for what felt like ages, releasing it only when she felt like her lungs were about to burst.

"Come on, Nora" Ren smiled slightly as he moved away "We need to get ready"  
"Fine!" Nora walked towards her closet "It's not like I wanted to boop or anything!"

Reaching into his closet, Ren pulled out a pair of white trousers, pulling them on over his boxers, glancing in the mirror at his partner, who was currently dancing around the room, yet to put a scrap of clothing on over her underwear. "_I'm glad that Jaune and Pyrrha like to get up early to go and train." _He thought as he lifted up a black, form-fitting shirt, pulling the lycra over his head. Nora began to make noises behind him, clearly admiring his body.

"Are you going to wear that in the tournament?" She appeared over his right shoulder  
"Underneath my jacket, it isn't as restrictive as a normal shirt"  
"It looks hot!" She exclaimed in reply  
"It absorbs the sweat and then uses it to cool-" Ren was cut off  
"Not that kind of hot stupid!" she criticised "Like the kind that looks good, you know, _hot"_  
"Oh" Ren smiled "I forgot about that."

Nora skipped back towards her own closet, taking out a pink skirt, sliding it up her legs and doing up the zipper concealed on the side, she grabbed her usual white blouse and slid it over her shoulders, neglecting to button it up, she began to walk back towards her partner, who had just slid into his jacket. She smiled at him as he shook his head disapprovingly at her, eyeing her body as she slowly did up each button, making it seem like a laborious task.

"Alright" Ren took Nora by the hand "Let's go and get our weapons."

* * *

Ren opened the door to his locker, looking at the two, green pistols that he had left inside the night before. He lifted one of them up, locked back the slider and used his index finger to pull at a small latch, dropping out its clip. Specially designed for this pistol, the clip would respond to his aura, allowing him to shoot an almost endless supply of bullets, without needing to reload. He pumped a small amount of aura into it, smiling as it glowed its usual blue hue. He placed it back inside the pistol, repeating the actions on the other one lying down in his locker.

Nora, standing at the locker next to him, took a far less subtle approach, she threw the door open and grabbed the large hammer that took up almost the entire length of it. To supplement her in this battle, she grabbed a large, leather bandolier, and draped it across her body, the trademark grenades filled with pink dust covered the front of it, allowing her to reload it in battle. She engaged the folding mechanism on the hammer, folding it into its grenade launcher form before strapping it to her back.

"Ready?" She turned to her partner, a smile growing across her face  
"What's this?" Ren tapped at the thick leather strap covering Nora's body "I've never seen it before"  
"I thought that I might need to reload Manghild today, I won't fight with it on, don't worry" Nora grabbed his arm, beginning the walk towards the combat hall.

* * *

He saw the four names up on the screen before him, every single fear that Ren had came into fruition at that moment. He felt as his stomach tied into a knot, his legs turned to jelly, he grabbed Nora's hand, half out of protective reflex, half a desperate cry for her support.

"Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie versus Cardin Winchester and Sky Lark" He read aloud, feeling as his hands began to shake.  
"Okay, maybe not exactly what we wanted but we'll get through it" Nora whispered, resting her head against his shoulder.  
"You leave Cardin to me" He glared down at her, eyes fired by a desperate intensity.  
"That's stupid" She replied, ignoring the look in his eyes "Cardin is a close range specialist, he has a massive aura, your guns-"  
"Pistols" Ren corrected her.  
"Pistols" She mimicked "Will be useless against him, that's if they even get through his armour" Nora seemed to turn into a master tactician.  
"I don't like the idea of him getting a chance to hurt you" Ren whispered, fear seeping into his voice.

Nora reached behind her back, squeezing the quick release clasp on the large bandolier she had been carrying, she placed it carefully on the ground at her feet, before taking a step towards him, wrapping her arms around him, linking her hands in the small of his back. Placing her head on his chest, she could hear his heart, it was racing, faster than she had ever heard it before. She was worried about him, Ren was able to control every single muscle in his body with pinpoint precision, but he could never control his heart rate; it would always respond in exactly the same way that a heart belonging to anybody else would.

"Ren" she whispered, her usual, excited personality completely absent "I will be fine, if you can, take down his partner, then come and help me, but I can handle myself."  
"I'll be worried about you the entire time" He whispered in reply  
"You're always worried about me, that's why I love you" she smiled, before pecking him on the cheek.

_"Did Nora just say I love you?" _the thought was ringing through Ren's head, _"She has never said that before, or anything like it," _the shock was present across his face, but a hand on his shoulder and a tug at his sleeve snapped him out of it.

"Ren" A male voice spoke to him from behind "Go and get him" said his leader, attempting to inspire him.

Standing beside her partner on the combat stage, Nora felt stronger than anyone in the world, she held Magnhild, ready to use the grenade launcher to wear down both of her opponents before they were even able to reach them. She looked across at Ren, who's nerves were by now completely hidden, He had ejected his Stormflowers from underneath his sleeves, the blades were extended to their full length. The only expression visible on his face was sheer determination. She felt her own face form into her twisted, sadistic smile. The excitement bent up within her came to its climax at a single moment, she heard over the loudspeaker a single word.

"Begin!"

Neither team wasted any time in their advance, Nora quickly unloaded three rounds towards her enemy, the canisters hitting their mark almost perfectly. Cardin grabbed at his mace and began to run towards his opposition, dodging the grenades which were attacking him. Ren pulled back on the triggers on his weapons, unloading his aura towards his enemy. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of the blue hair of his opponent. Bringing up the blade extending from his right pistol, he protected himself from the weapon aimed straight for his head, before nodding towards Nora, a silent sign to separate.

Pulling at the latch on Magnhild, Nora brought it into its hammer form, almost immediately using the pole to block an attack from Cardin. _"He's faster than I am" _she noted, attempting to connect her hammer against his breastplate, finding the pole on his mace connecting against her own. She pulled back on the trigger, exposing him to the full force of the explosive, pink dust emanating from the circle on the face of the weapon.

This only seemed to make Cardin angrier; he came back at the same speed, but swung his weapon twice as hard. Nora was only just able to block it, and even in putting all her strength into it, was barely able to stop its force. She felt as her feet slid back slightly, putting her off balance. She separated her legs, dropping below another attack from the heavy mace. She stood back up, ready to return the attack, but being greeted by something completely unexpected.

Ren, still preoccupied by trying to keep his own enemy at bay, found himself paying more attention to his partner's fight than his own. He raised a blade up in front of his face, seeing as sparks shone almost directly in front of his eyes in the desperate parry. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at his scroll, his own aura was running low, but Nora still remained thoroughly in the green.

Nora felt as a hard fist caught her in the cheek, sending her sprawling to the floor. She jumped back up, pushing Manghild's handle into the ground to prop herself up. Once she had her footing back she took a swing at Cardin, who already had his Mace prepared to block the incoming attack. Nora couldn't even see what happened next, but she was certainly able to feel it. A gigantic swing from the large, heavy mace had caught her right in the centre of the chest, winding her and sending her flying across the room. She landed on the ground with a heavy thud. The onslaught had not ended there however, she found that Cardin, mace now hidden away, began to attack her with his own bare hands, punching her relentlessly in the stomach and ribs.

Ren couldn't put the emotions that he felt into words, he saw everything that had happened and was unable to stop it. In a desperate gambit, he swung the axe-like blades at his opponents thigh, feeling as they hit their mark, embedding deep inside him, temporarily crippling his left leg. He let go of the pistols, beginning to sprint towards his partner.

With a scream, Ren put all of his aura into a single attack, using his palm to hit Cardin in the temple, causing him to fall to the floor beside Nora. He stared down at his fallen opponent, eyes clearly filled with rage. The emotions inside him began to burn into a fire, he lifted up his left leg and brought it down hard into Cardin's shin, feeling the satisfying crunch of breaking bone.

"That's enough!" boomed a loud voice, "The fight is over!"

Ren knelt down next to his partner, looking at the marks covering her body. He took her by the hand, feeling as it squeezed his weakly. He leant down, trying to hear the whisper that came out of Nora's mouth.

"I'm sorry," She choked out "he got me."  
"It's okay, I don't care if we won, I only care if you're alright" He replied, feeling as a tear ran down his cheek.  
"I'll need to go to hospital" She said, attempting a giggle, "but I'll be alright."  
"I love you, Nora." Ren managed, as the tears began to flow  
"At least you broke his leg for me" Replied the redhead, beaming as she slipped out of consciousness.


End file.
